


Bedding through the years

by J_Antebellum



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Cheesy, Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Love, Sweet, Tender - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:55:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23185120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_Antebellum/pseuds/J_Antebellum
Summary: Sleeping together has changed a lot since the first time they did it over a decade before.
Relationships: Ashlyn Harris/Ali Krieger
Comments: 8
Kudos: 123





	Bedding through the years

**Bedding through the years.**

Sharing a bed, just the two of them, had been a frequent activity over the course of their relationship. Somehow it was a bonding experience far greater than any they did awake; it was letting each other see them in their most vulnerable state, sometimes even naked, it was discovering how the other felt most comfortable, who stole sheets more often, who needed more cuddles... and often it was the skin-to-skin touch, cradling each other to Morpheus' arms in a way that could easily say 'you are all I need to have sweet dreams'.

The first time came in the beginning of the 10's decade, and they had only been best friends then. They had been watching something on TV, neither of them could remember what anymore, sharing they didn't remember whether it was Ashlyn's bed or Ali's bed, in the hotel room where the USWNT had been staying for the past few days for a game. They had both been sitting against the headboard, with blankets wrapped around themselves, when Ali, who always seemed to have the best talent to fall asleep all the time anywhere, surprised them both by not falling asleep, and instead Ashlyn beat her to it.

It took Ali a minute to notice, actually. They had been talking animatedly, laughing, and then there had been a moment of silence before Ali had felt a gentle weight against her shoulder. She had playfully elbowed Ashlyn, gently.

“Hey, go to your own side, you're squashing me here,” Ali joked teasingly. But Ashlyn didn't bulge, so she turned to look at her and her face melted into a sweet smile as she saw Ashlyn had fallen asleep and, being taller than her, her body had just leaned against Ali's with her head hanging aside awkwardly. “Aw, Ash... you were tired, uh?” Ali whispered, and tenderly reached to Ashlyn's body, softly pulling from her, which woke her up.

“Uh, wha-?” Ashlyn murmured, disoriented.

“Sh... it's okay, sh... just put your head on my lap.”

In the sleepy haze, Ashlyn barely nodded, her eyes closed again, and let Ali put her head on a pillow on her lap, her body cuddling on the bed like a ball while Ali's fingers caressed her long hair, bringing her back to sleep.

That night Ali first learned about Ashlyn's troubled past, because back then Ashlyn was still having trouble sleeping and going to the sports' psychologist weekly, and murmured in her sleeping, tossing and turning, enough for Ali to have a slight idea of a rocky childhood. But Ali never said anything; she caressed Ashlyn's hair, whispered comforting words and eventually, fell asleep with her hands around Ashlyn, not scared away.

It was different when they slept together as girlfriends for the first time. It was in Buffalo, where Ashlyn was living at the time, and Ali had gone to visit her and watch one of her games. They had ended-up going to a dinner that turned unexpectedly romantic, and once they arrived to Ashlyn's shared house and barged into her bedroom making out and pulling at each other's clothes, Ashlyn had unexpectedly stopped them from getting further.

“What if we just...?” Ashlyn pointed to her bed with her head. “Sleep? We don't have to go so fast.” She offered with a small smile, her lips swollen from so much kissing. Ali had seen that as the gesture of a gentlewoman, and had felt flattered and blushed, nodding.

“I'd love that.”

So Ashlyn allowed her to have the bathroom while she changed into her pyjamas in the room, and when they both saw each other in sporty shorts and tank tops that left little to imagination, they made each other blush by shamelessly ogling each other, all smiles until they lied in bed and became a little nervous.

“Can I... untuck my side of the bed?” Ali asked nervously.

“Sure, make yourself at home,” Ashlyn lied on her back, almost on the edge of her bed, trying not to move or pull the sheets to not make Ali uncomfortable.

Ali moved her sheets to untuck them and then lied mirroring Ashlyn's actions and thoughts, both terrified to fall asleep and kick the other or steal sheets or drool embarrassingly. And then, it came to Ashlyn's mind that it was silly to be like that, that they had been best friends for a while, seen each other sleep a hundred times... this wasn't so different. And as the hostess, she had a duty to make her guests comfortable.

“How about,” Ashlyn whispered in the dark, “we close our eyes and promise that whatever embarrassing shit we do tonight, we will tease each other about it all day tomorrow?”

“Oh, I won't let you live it down,” Ali chuckled at the idea, amused. Of course Ashlyn would try for them to have fun with it. “You know... I've never slept with a girl I liked.”

The goalkeeper grinned, smug, and reached under the sheets to timidly hold her hand.

“It's okay. I've never liked a girl so much to actually sleep with her instead of just having sex until I knocked out.”

Ali snorted a laugh, shaking her head.

“Aw, this is you being romantic then?”

“Of course,” Ashlyn rolled over, looking at her, and even in the dark she could tell Ali was smiling looking back at her, their hands still intertwined. “I really like you Ali... I promise that won't change even if you drool like a dog. Tomorrow I'll only like you more.”

“Even if I have the worst morning breath?”

“...”

“Ash!”

Ashlyn laughed, having only been teasing.

“I'm kidding, of course I'll still like you even if you have the worst morning breath. But only if you still like me when I steal your sheets.”

“If you steal my sheets... then maybe I should just scoot closer.”

“Maybe you should.”

Ali moved closer, her hand climbing form Ashlyn's hand to her hip.

“Like this?” Ali whispered, her breath tickling Ashlyn's nose now.

“I can't kiss you this far away.”

“Oh,” Ali moved again, amused, arms starting to wrap around each other as their chest pressed together and their lips brushed against each other. “Better?”

“Better,” Ashlyn smiled, kissing her hard for a moment before kissing the top of her head and closing her eyes with the dark hair against her nose. Ali sighed happily into her chest.

“You're so soft and warm, like a giant teddy bear,” Ali squeezed her gently, her toes stretching between Ashlyn's feet.

“You smell so good,” Ashlyn whispered sleepy. “I love having you in my arms.”

“Then don't let me go.”

“Never.”

The next night they'd sleep together without clothes, after their first time together, feeling the skin warmth against each other's skin while Ashlyn spooned Ali, her fingers still absently hanging over Ali's wetness, and her mouth tucked against Ali's neck, and that night none of them cared about any embarrassing behaviours in the slightest.

And it only got better with the years. Ashlyn remembered the first time they had fallen asleep together in the beach, and how Ali had woken her up all altered because Ashlyn was going to 'fry'. Then there was the first time they fell asleep together in the hospital, after Ashlyn recovered from a surgery and Ali leaned into her bed to sleep.

And then came the first time they slept together in their very first home, in Orlando. Ali had finally moved in there, and they had so much sex their legs felt loose afterwards, and so Ali lied over Ashlyn, their naked chests pressed together as Ashlyn held her close, peppering kisses over her forehead.

“I love you so much. I'm so glad you're here.”

“I'm happy to be here,” Ali kissed her chest. “We'll never be apart again, my love.”

“I hope so.”

But over time, it became more difficult to stay together. The first time came when they adopted their first puppy, Logan. They had truly tried to forbid Logan from getting into their bed, but after hours of crying, Ashlyn finally gave in and opened their bedroom door to her. The puppy raced to Ali's arms and soon, Ashlyn had to get used to Logan's every night bigger presence between their bodies, the smell of dog instead of Ali's shampoo, and the doggy licks on her face instead of Ali's soft lips. But still, as she squeezed her family a hundred times later, when Logan was the size of a small horse and it felt like having a child between them, she wouldn't have changed a thing.

Then arrived Storm. The French bulldog quickly became Ashlyn's favourite sleep companion, and Ali found herself competing with one or sometimes two dogs over her now fiancée. But the very first night they went to sleep in their brand new family house, the first house they had looked for and bought together for their marriage and their children, Ali wasn't going to have it. She bravely walked to Ashlyn while she had fallen asleep on the bed with both dogs and resisted Logan's crying and pouty eyes as she pushed her to the feet of the bed, and again same process with Storm as she pulled her from her fiancée's arms and situated herself between them instead, hugging Ashlyn close and kissing her forehead.

“What happened? Where are the girls?” Ashlyn murmured, waking up against her chest a moment later.

“They're fine, but I'm the only girl you should be paying attention to right now.”

A laughter escaped Ashlyn's lips and she held Ali closer, kissing her as she managed to roll on top of her.

“Aw babe, you're always my only girl, promise.”

A less pleasurable sleeping experience, but one that finally gave them the courage to kick the dogs off the bed, was when Ashlyn became ill after a trip up north in the winter, from which she returned with a fever, vomiting, always feeling cold and sneezing every second, her voice completely gone. And then Ali tested for the first time what it was like to be the big spoon, to hold her wife to sleep, to wake up in the middle of the night as often as required to attend her wife's needs, and to keep the sheets tucked all through the night to make sure her wife was all warm. It wasn't her favourite experience, but as Ashlyn nuzzled into her chest like a little child feeling poorly, moaning in pain and murmuring stuff in her sleep, Ali relished on the feeling that no one could comfort her love as much as she could.

Next thing they knew though, Ali was pregnant. And so the dogs started to sleep protectively around her, and Ashlyn would have to fight for a spot, but she was still Ali's favourite teddy bear, over a decade after that first night together. For Ali it was getting uncomfortable to sleep now, and it always took her forever to find the right position. The dogs would end up leaving in exasperation, but Ashlyn stayed, and when Ali would finally be comfortable, she'd reward Ashlyn with a kiss, a put her hand beneath hers against her growing belly. Then Ashlyn discovered another way of falling asleep, with a smile on her face, Ali's warmth all around her, and their baby's kicking against her hand.

Ashlyn didn't think holding balls for a living would eventually make her hands extra trained to hold her newborn child. But it happened, and apparently the baby loved it, loved her experienced big hands as much as Ali did, and so a new form of sleeping together appeared. With Ali's tired face against her shoulder, pillows between their backs and the headboard, her head over Ali's and their brand new child between her arms, after a long session of breastfeeding in the middle of the night, with the dogs over their legs. That night none of them cared if the sheets were tucked or not, if the dogs were too invading, or what. The baby was asleep as so they were asleep and nothing else mattered.

And then one baby became three grown children, they bought an XXL mattress, and the dogs were kindly banished from the bed for good.

“I can't remember the last time I held you while sleeping,” Ashlyn whispered with a pout as they woke up in the middle of the night with two children between them, and a third sprawled behind Ali's back, while Ashlyn was on the very edge of the bed trying not to fall. Ali chuckled and extended an arm over the children that separated them, trying to touch her. Ashlyn stretched her arm to hold hands with her and smiled, squeezing her hand.

“This just keeps getting better and better, isn't it?” Ali murmured, not wanting to wake their rambunctious offspring up.

“With you? That's just the natural way life goes, babe,” Ashlyn flirted, winking at her. “Can't wait for them to go off to Uni so I can have my wife back.”

“Sh... enjoy this now. We won't have it that much longer.”

“You're right,” Ashlyn squeezed her hand. “But you're still my favourite sleeping partner.”

“And you're mine. I love you stud.”

“I love you more.”

Ali snorted.

“If you say so...”


End file.
